Veteran plaintiffs’ attorney Mike Williams is targeting a Chicago-based insurer that allegedly fails to follow through on claims for long-term health care benefits.

In a class action lawsuit filed Thursday in U.S. District Court in Portland, Williams alleged that Chicago-based Bankers Life & Casualty Co. wrongfully denied or delayed claims for benefits, or failed to pay claims in full. The class action suit is open to all Oregonians in similar straits with Bankers Life long-term care policies, as well as family members or representatives who have spent money pursuing benefits.

In that it seeks damages for unpaid insurance benefits, the suit is a bit of a sideways step for Williams, name partner in Williams Love O’Leary & Powers, who has long emphasized medical malpractice and product liability claims.

“This is a company that preys on people when they are at their most vulnerable,” Williams said of Bankers Life, a unit of Conseco Inc., in a press release. “When you’re weak and sick, at the end of life, that’s when you need the benefits. Bankers Life stalls and refuses to pay. The company is counting on you not having the energy or ability to fight back. Many people don’t. And, of those who do, many still don’t get paid. That’s how the company makes its money. It is a classic consumer scam aimed at the most vulnerable people.”

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